Jennifer Granholm faces challenges promoting electric vehicles: charging difficulties and upset families.

Biden Energy Sec used gas-powered car to ‘reserve’⁣ public charging ⁢station, prompting police call

Green Driving Gone Wrong

One month after Jennifer Granholm ​encouraged Americans​ to purchase electric ‌vehicles for their summer road ​trips, the ⁣energy ⁢secretary ⁣embarked on an EV trip of her own‌ to promote the wonders of green⁣ driving. It did not go well.

During one‌ leg of the June trip, NPR reported Sunday, Granholm planned to ⁢stop ⁤at a ⁣public charging station outside of Augusta, Georgia,​ before continuing northwest to Athens. Before Granholm arrived, however, her staff realized the station would not be able to accommodate Granholm’s caravan—one charger was broken and others ⁢were in use.⁢ Granholm’s team ⁤responded​ by using a⁢ gas-powered​ car⁢ to block the public ⁢from⁢ accessing the station’s only available⁣ charger,⁣ prompting ‍one family—which had a baby in​ the car on a ‌hot Georgia day—to call‌ the police.

The ⁤revelation reflects⁣ the electric ⁤vehicle issues that are plaguing the Biden administration’s prized green energy transition. President Joe Biden has worked to ‌spur EV⁤ adoption⁢ by ⁣spending hundreds⁣ of billions of⁤ dollars on charging ‌infrastructure​ and ⁢other ‍green subsidies, but the effort is yet to⁢ deliver a reliable public charging experience‌ for everyday Americans.‍ Public charging stations are often broken and crowded, and when they do work, it can still take hours to fully charge a vehicle.

Still, those issues did not stop Granholm in May‍ from advising ⁤road-tripping Americans to purchase ‌an electric vehicle. Beyond‍ the charging woes associated with the vehicles, that purchase is an expensive one—Granholm’s June caravan ​of‌ EVs⁤ included a Ford F-150 Lightning and a‍ Cadillac Lyriq, according⁣ to NPR, ‌both of which can cost upwards of $60,000. As a result, less than one-fifth of Americans say they’re very likely to make their​ next vehicle an electric one, according ​to an Associated Press poll published in April.

The Energy Department did not return a request for comment.

Granholm’s Georgia charging fiasco was not‍ the only headache the Biden administration official​ experienced during her June ⁤trip, which ‌saw her visit Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Granholm’s pricey ‍Cadillac Lyriq ‌developed a ‌”hardware issue” that made it difficult to charge,​ NPR reported. Granholm also encountered faulty chargers in‌ Tennessee.

“It’s just ‌par for the course,” one electric vehicle ‌driver told NPR after waiting ⁣for Granholm to ⁤charge ⁣her ⁤fleet of vehicles in Georgia.

Granholm’s botched electric vehicle promotion ⁤tour did ‍not stop the former Michigan governor ​from praising the ⁣Biden administration’s green ‍transition. Just week’s after the tour’s ⁣conclusion, Granholm said Biden’s green⁤ energy spending “is‍ delivering clean energy savings, battery‍ investments, EV charging infrastructure, and more.”

Eventually, Biden’s green energy⁣ push⁤ will‌ bring mandates, not just​ subsidies. The Democrat’s Environmental Protection‌ Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety⁣ Administration have both proposed rules that would effectively force automakers to ensure ‍that two-thirds of the ⁣vehicles they‍ sell are electric by‍ 2032. Republicans ‌have pledged to⁢ prohibit those rules.

“The Biden administration cannot continue ‍to create regulations ‍that limit consumer choice, hamper mobility, make vehicles more expensive for families, and cede America’s‍ auto leadership and⁤ jobs to China,” Michigan Republican⁤ congressman ⁢Tim Walberg said in July‍ after introducing a bill to prevent the EPA’s proposal.